https://www.f150online.com/galleries....cfm?gnum=4704

Mine isn't to leight either, it pulls well enough through the smokey mtns. wont win any races, and gets about 6 or 8 miles to the gallon, ( but ) boy do i love it. sleeps 11 has 1 super slide..

 

Thanks man! We had that Trail Lite and loved it until we started looking around. Your trailer is made by the same company as the TL, its just a larger, nicer version. Yes this trailer is made my Crossroads and it weighs 5776 lbs. I looked at the Equalizer but the price scared me off. I really liked the looks of the DC and wondered what kind of noise it would make as it rode in and out of the cams. I have a friction style sway bar and thought that with the additional length of this trailer that the DC was a better choice. Thanks for the info!

AZ, Nice rig man!

 

4by4Freak,

What diff ratio's do you have?
I have an FX4 with 3.55 (ya I know they come standard with 3.73) with 17 inch tires which give me a 8200lb max,
and will have a SIDO side exit Magnaflow. I plan on towing around 7000 with a brake controller and weight distribution hitch. What are your mods? Looking to you for you secrets in towing that big trailer. Thanks.

 

I have the 3.73 gears. The only mods done are a SIDO Flowmaster 50 series and the Edge Evolution. Dry weight on my trailer is 6200lbs. It is closer to 6800 though. The loaded weight is just a touch over 8200. I don't travel with a lot of water in my fresh water tank, just enough to use the facilities if needed. The key to the whole setup is the hitch and the brake controller. As long as you have everything set up correctly you'll have a much nicer ride! It took me several trips to get the hitch dialed in. I use a Prodigy controller and couldn't be happier. I do plan on changing the hitch out this spring to an Equal-i-zer. I found them for $399 so I think it's gonna be a late Christmas present. We already have several trips planned for 07. Some of these are 300 miles away. Your truck is going to work pulling anything with frontal area to it. If you can find lighter with what you're looking for in a trailer I'd suggest it. The crossroads like monkey has are very nice and they are light. My Trail Bay is a full profile trailer. It is on the heavy side for this truck but not un-doable. I am right at my limits both in GVW and CGVW, all my axles are underweight. I do plan on changing the tires out with some load range tires within the next month or so. P rated tires just don't cut it to haul a trailer. I get some rear end sway out of the truck.. To sum it all up... look at trailers, find what you like and make sure it is of a lightweight variety. IF it's not a Lightweight then you will have to sacrifice length or amenities. Get a good hitch and brake controller. Load correctly and make sure you're set up correctly. The most important thing... DON'T LISTEN TO THE RV DEALER TELLING YOU THAT YOU CAN TOW ANYTHING ON HIS LOT! I would suggest going to an RV show and look around. You will be able to see every model and make in one location. If I had a Crossroads dealer in this area, that would have been on the list. Don't go to the show with the intention to buy. Go with the intention to look. It took me almost 5 yrs to decide on the trailer I wanted. It is completely functional and fits my family perfectly. It has all the upgrades we were looking for. You're not going to win any races while towing but if you take your time and enjoy the ride you have fun. I tow between 60-65MPH with OD off. I do anticipate hills and build up a little momentum before climbing. Usually I will see about a 5 MPH drop on a large grade. The truck will be in second gear at 3500RPM and pulling like hell. I make it to the top and then level right back out to about 63MPH. I keep the Edge displaying Trans temp, coolant temp, and oil temp. I rarely see trans temps over 185. I have seen oil temps as high as 215. Coolant temps usually run about 195-200. Have a good time looking and take a camera and note book. Take pictures of weight tags and interiors. You should be ok.

 

Freek, I was going to order the DC sway bar, but I was waiting for my new load levelling hitch came in. It came in today and and is the WRONG ONE!! I ordered a 12K trunion style LL hitch that had the bent arms for the DC. They sent me a 10K round bar hitch that has straight arms (wont work with the DC). Anyway, they are going to just refund my money and I am going to look at the Equa-l-izer you spoke of. The price kinda scared me off at first, but with the price of the LL hitch and then adding the DC, I am going to look at the Equalizer a little closer. You have personal experience with both, can you give me some first hand information on both??

 

They both operate in the same manner. They force the trailer to remain in a straight line behind your truck. You don't need the 12K hitch. Your trailer weight isn't anywhere near the 12K capacity. Get the hitch that fits your needs. If your rig is under 10K then get the 10K hitch. They all work off tounge weight anyway. If you get a hitch with 1000lb bars you'll be good to go. What I have found is that you can in fact pop a bar out of the DC setup on a tight turn. This requires you to stop, get out, jack the trailer up, reset the bars, and then put the jack back into travel position and then continue backing. There are alot more moving parts to this setup as well. It does however work very well. There is no additional sway control needed. The Equalizer hitch on the other hand is extremely simple. It has a head design in which the bar ends remain attatched to the hitch itself. The load bars are also the sway control. They are about 1"sq and slide into sockets on the head and then a pin goes through it. They then snap up into an "L" shaped bracket and keeper pins lock it into place. It is essentially a 4point hitch when connected. They operate very smoothly going down the road and make a little noise when making sharp turns. It is a creaking noise rather than a loud pop that you will get out of the Reese. I am upgrading my hitch this spring and I will be going with the Equal-i-zer. It would be really easy for me to get the DC cams and change the bars but the Equal-i-zer seems like a better hitch. My buddy has one and it is really easy to hook up and it works great. I have my conventional hitch with friction sway control dialed in perfectly. It took me several trips to get it the way I wanted. The last time we went out it was smooth as glass. We were doing 70 and I didn't even realize it. The key to any WD hitch is the setup. You will definately know when it's right. The dealer that installed mine and set it up didn't do a good job. I had to re-adjust to get it home. I was getting alot of bounce and porposing. It felt very unstable and I didn't like it. I took up another link on the chains and it was much better. The next trip I played with the head angle. I tipped it back by one washer and it was perfect! I currently have 3 links hanging and the head tilted back slightly. The truck sits almost perfectly level and the trailer is perfectly level. My tounge weight varies due to my fresh water tank being in the front of the trailer. It can be as high as 1280#! I don't travel with a lot of water in my tanks and my tounge weight is approx 850#. You said that you drove home without the sway control. What kind of road was it? Speed? Did it feel stable? Your trailer is much lighter than mine is. The DC is reccomended for a tounge weight over 400#. Keep that in mind. You also towed it basically empty. You will not go wrong with either hitch but like I said I am going Equal-i-zer on mine. Much simpler and worth the $$$. Let me know how you make out or if you have any other questions.

 

I think I am going to go with the Equalizer. I am going to get my money back and look into ordering the Equalizer, I found it for $399 and free shipping. The new trailer weighs 5776lbs (dry) and has 760lbs of tongue weight. Pulling it home on the interstate was really smooth. I had to do a quick adjust on the hitch to get it setting as level as I could. I was kind of in a hurry and didnt fine tune it, but it pulled great. My truck has the lowering (2 inch) shackles on it or I think it would have been perfectly level. I know what you mean about tilting the head of the hitch back a little, it makes a difference. I felt comfortable enough with the way it pulled to take it on a trip as is, i just know that a sway bar setup of some sort is needed to be safe. I appreciate the time you took with answering my questions.


*update*
I recieved a refund this morning on the first hitch I ordered and placed the order for the Original Equalizer hitch. I got it for $399 shipped and then ordered the double pin survival pack. It should be here Tuesday. Thanks again Freek for all of your help. I will let you know how it does when I use it.

 

You'll definitely appreciate the ease of hookup with the equal-i-zer. It is really a nice hitch system. Mine will come in the spring. I want to get my pad finished first. Another 300 and I should be good to go. Water, sewer and elect will be a great addition to my back yard!

 

Sounds like a plan man. I thought this was a little funny, if you go to the Equalizer site and watch the videos, they use a trailer like yours in the them.

 

HAHAHA I'll have to check that out! It is really long behind the truck. If I look in the mirrors it seems like it never ends! My current setup tows nicely but the external sway control is a PITA when I have to back up. I have to get out and remove it, then get back in and back up. Keep me posted on how you make out. I had to fine tun my friends for him. He is towing a 29' Jayco Flight bunk house with an 03 Screw Lariat 4x4. He didn't have enough weight transferred and he was getting a bad bounce over bigger bumps. On top of that the front of his truck was 2 1/2" higher. I took it up one pin and it rides much better. The truck actually sits level now.

 

I dont have oversized tires or a lift, matter of fact Im basically stock with a magnaflow muffler. I just took the trailer back to Ohio, through the mountains of VA and WV, 650miles one way. This truck needs another gear, I dont care what anyone says. We needs a 5spd transmission. OD is unless while towing anything of weight, and if you stay in 3rd gear, you'd be running 3300-3500rpms the entire time. We need a 5spd transmission, no excuses why we dont have one yet.

And as for the 5.4, I got horrid gas mileage in return for mediocre performance. Dont get me wrong, its not a bad engine, but it needs more power. Hell numbers dont lie, look at the competition and we're at the bottom of the chart here. GM is boasting more HP and better MPG, now Im in no way a GM fan, but I do like to think with some common sense and not blind loyalty.

Also while you may have zero(0) problems with YOUR 5.4, that does not mean that problems do not exist with others. I have several issues with mine including a nasty engine vibration that the dealers claim "is normal for a truck", my ***. I have detonation issues, and Im terrified to take out the spark plugs. I have repeated hard start conditions and to top it off, it may not pull like a diesel but it sure as hell ticks like a diesel. So the cam phasers need to be replaced, but the thought of having my 24k mile engine torn apart freaks me out.

 

about the mileage for the 6L

vortec 1500 models with Vortec MAX 6.0L V8
city/highway
2WD 4-speed automatic 15/19
4x4 4-speed automatic 15/19

but its only pushing 10 more lb/ft of torque then ours.. and has to reach higher to do it..

Vortec MAX 6.0L V8 = 367hp @ 5,500rpms 375 torque @ 4,300rpms

Triton 5.4L V8 = 300hp @5,000rpms 365 torque @ 3750rpms

i dont give a about HP its torque that gets the crap rolling forward

there supposed improved

Vortec 5.3L V8 315hp @ 5,200rpms 338 torque @ 4,400rpms

our engines can do the job its the trannys thats gotta go

i'll take my 5.4 with 85% of its max torque at only 1500RPMs any day of the week..

WHY didnt ford put the TorqueShift in this truck

 

I don't know what you're running for gears but cruising with OD off i run at 2600 RPM all day long in 3rd gear. If it downshifts to second it will jump right into the power range of 3500 and like I said, pull like hell. Let the motor Rev thats what it's supposed to do. If you're concerned about mileage while towing then all I can tell you is, don't tow. I don't care what gas motor you use, it gets poor mileage while towing. If you want low RPM's and good mileage get a PSD. My dad tows 16000# with his 06 350 4x4 Lariat. He gets 21 solo and 13 towing. It has the tow command in it and the truck pulls like a freight train! I love the 5.4 in these trucks. It makes awesome power down low and while cruising it makes great power in the 3500 RPM range. If you think it's revving too high jump in a Chevy and tow the same load. You won't see anything lower than 4000 RPM's. I have talked to several people that tow with them and they're running the 6.0. They see 9MPG while towing and about 14 not towing. I am sorry you are having issues with your truck. With 24,000 on it I would strongly suggest that you take it to the dealer and get it fixed. If you don't trust your dealer, then I suggest you get another. My dealership is awesome. They have fixed any issue's that I have had the first time with no song and dance. I haven't had many, I had the brakes redone under the TSB, I had 2 window switches replaced, and I had a re-flash done. It is going in for tranny service.. fluid and filter next week. I had a defect in the drivers seat that was repaired and thats about it. It pulls like hell and runs great! I guess I just got a good one but with as many Ford F-150's that are on the road expect more issues to pop up. Does it need another gear? Maybe. It really all depends on where they put the drive ratio. You would most likely stay in the same RPM range even with a 5 speed. These are where the 5.4 makes it's power. So instead of one downshift from 3rd to 2nd it will downshift twice from 4th to 2nd. A 5 speed would be nice for low end pulling but would be pretty much worthless while doing 60 up a mountain. The best thing I can suggest is to get your truck to a reputable dealer and get it fixed, it's not supposed to tick and make noise. It's not loyalty that keeps me here. I have a Ford truck, I use a Ford truck. I have no problems with my Ford truck. I would and plan on buying another Ford truck. It's all very simple... Ford trucks were built to work and pull. Thats what I use it for. The plus sides, best looking truck on the road, most comfortable ride, best interior, best options package, and the price isn't bad. Have you looked at the sticker price on the new Chevys? They think they are made of gold! If I could build the perfect truck it would have the styling of an F-150, a PSD 6.0, and an Allison trans. There wouldn't be another truck on the road that could compete. For now I'll stick with my Ford F-150, 5.4,3.73,4x4,4speed OD trans. It works and gets the job done!

 

I have almost the same truck, execpt mine is a 4x2 and has 3:55 gears. I don't have a hitch yet and was interested in the Equal-i-zer, but haven't a clue what else I need. I will be towing a 24' TT and wanted to know what was required for the hitch? The part that actually connects to your truck. Any recommendations?

 

Do you have the towing package on your truck? If so, Then all you'll need is the hitch itself and the ball. It would be a 2 5/16". If you don't have the tow pkg then you'll need a receiver (frame mounted, not bumper mount), trans cooler, wiring to plug your trailer into, and a brake controller. You'll need a brake controller regardless, I use the Prodigy be Techonsha. It is really a nice controller and for the $$$ you can't beat it. If you have the tow pkg, there will be a grey plug under your dash on the right side of the steering wheel. You can get the plug that goes directly from the truck to the controller making installation about a 5 min job. If you have any questions feel free to ask. E-trailer.com has about the best prices.